The Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is spreading fast across three continents of the world as the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed in its reports on Sunday, that the deadly virus has spread to nine other states; including countries in Europe and America.
The WHO report monitored late on Sunday said twenty-three confirmed cases have been reported outside of China in nine countries. These countries include Thailand with the highest of four cases, Australia with three cases, Republic of Korea has two cases, Japan three, Vietnam has two cases, France has three cases, the United States of America has two cases, Singapore has three and Nepal has only one confirmed case of 2019-nCoV.
The report however detailed that only one of the confirmed cases have no travel link with China, as 22 of them have a travel history to Wuhan city in China.
According to the report: “Of these 23 confirmed cases, 21 had travel history to Wuhan City, China; one case in Australia had direct contact with a confirmed case from Wuhan while in China; one confirmed case in Vietnam had no travel history to any part of China as mentioned in situation report published on 24 January. According to preliminary investigations, this constitutes an instance of human to human transmission within a family.”
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However, the latest situation report by the WHO said 41 persons have been reported dead in China, out of the 1,320 confirmed cases for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globally. It further revealed that 39 of the deaths were recorded in Hubei province, one death in Hebei province and one in Heilongjiang province.
The report stated that as at 25th January 2020, the number of reported confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV increased by 474 cases since the last situation report published on 24 January 2020.
The WHO however, insisted that based on an assessment of the risk of 2019-nCoV, it remains very high in China, “high at the regional level and moderate at the global level.”
It also disclosed that out of the 1,320 confirmed cases, 1,297 cases were reported from China with five cases confirmed in Hong Kong SAR, two cases in Macau SAR and three in Taipei.
Also, a total of 1,965 suspected cases have been reported from 20 Chinese provinces, regions and cities excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taipei.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has appealed to Nigerians not to panic based on reports making rounds in both foreign and local media platforms.
A global report made available to newsmen by the NCDC on Sunday in Abuja shows that at least one relative risk of internationally imported cases has been witnessed in nine countries namely; Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and France. The report further added that at least one relative risk case has been observed in 19 regions within China.
The NCDC called for verification of reports and called on the citizenry to remain calm as Novel Coronavirus was not as deadly as being painted by the media and as some experts are already likening it to the Ebola virus which had a high fatality rate.
It said: “As we watch CNN and read all the experts in newspapers, a call for caution, please. The media may be escalating anxiety with headlines talking of a ‘killer virus’ + ‘growing fears.’ In truth, from what we currently know, the 2019-nCoV has moderate transmissibility and relatively low pathogenicity.
“For instance, as at 11th of January, the Wuhan County in China confirmed only 1 death out of 41 confirmed cases of the nCoV disease, as compared to an average case fatality rate (CFR) of 50% for Ebola, meaning about 20 out of 40 people infected with Ebola die. In fact, WHO said CFR for Ebola has varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. So think about this before you say deadly.
“Actually, there is no reason to foster panic with exaggerated language./WHO has been very proactive and measured. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has repeatedly reiterated that they are working with WHO daily.
“The NCDC confirmed they have a dedicated team synthesising information on global developments around the virus to assess the risk for Nigeria and advise for informed decision making. Nigerians, we need each other at this time. Do not spread news you have not personally verified.”